By Whatever Means Necessary
by Progeny Ex Machina
Summary: How did he come to work for G Corp? How was he put on the path to forgetting who he was? What exactly happened on October 18, 2004? And what was he thinking when the retirement party ended in disaster? Four pivotal moments in the life of LabTech 247.
1. The Beginning

**Apartment Building Explodes; 129 Dead**

The large, bold lettering at the top of the page was all he could make out in the absence of his usual thick glasses, now crushed amidst multiple tons of concrete.

It didn't matter. He knew the rest. The rescue team had found him, a veritable mess of blood and chemical burns, yet despite being closer to the blast than anyone else, he was also the only one to survive it. There was certainly a logical explanation, but for once he didn't care.

He had killed them.

He had gathered all his friends in his private laboratory on the sixth floor. He'd had an idea and wanted their input. None of them saw it coming. They couldn't have; they hadn't seen the calculations.

He had killed them.

The inaugural experiment. One experiment, gone so horribly wrong. He could have shown them his calculations; they would have caught his mistake. He could have been more careful, in so many ways. He could have just stuck to the quiet, peaceful life of a fisherman...

He had killed them.

Why had he taken up science? Science...it had found him, young and free, and swept him up in its passion.

And now his passion had killed his friends.

And still it called to him, beckoning him with its vitality, its thrill, its sense of unending possibility...

He didn't hear the door creak open, nor the steady footfalls moving toward him. He didn't look up at the sound of a crisp, assured voice clearing its throat.

"Here." Slowly, he raised his head and squinted at the gray-and-teal blob to his side, which seemed to be holding something out. "I've obtained your prescription information. Not going to get anywhere if you can't see."

Warily, he reached out and took the proffered eyewear. The blob became a man in his thirties wearing standard lab gear, with a strange logo on the chest pocket.

"You can walk, correct?" He managed a nod. "Come with me."

Wincing, he swung his legs over the side and stood up. The strange man regarded him impassively. "My name is 062," he began, "and I'm here to discuss your future."

"That's your...name?" he asked, confused.

"Yes," said 062 tersely, and began to make his way down the hall. Raising an eyebrow, he followed.

"Your experiment was no third-grade volcano trick. You have determined where your error lay, correct?"

"What do you know about my experiment?" he demanded.

"I know many things," replied 062, unfazed. "My superior has taken an interest in you. Your work could prove invaluable to us. We are the source of all of Gaia's scientific development, and we could use a mind like yours."

Now he was really growing suspicious, albeit intrigued. "Who are you?"

"I am LabTech 062," he stated. "I am here on behalf of G Corp, the top-quality, top-secret corporation responsible for many facets of life as you know it. And Mr. Gambino thinks you may have what it takes to join our team and see it all from the inside."

He had stopped in his tracks. "Surely you don't mean Johnny K. Gambino?"

062 turned his head, making eye contact. "The very same."

"And he wants _me_? But...but I just killed an entire building's worth of people! Why would you trust me? I could mix something wrong and blow up your lab too. I could set fire to the entire surrounding area with one mishandled test tube. I could use the wrong solution at the wrong time and start a zombie invasion! Science is too dangerous. I want no part of it anymore."

"You can't just throw away talent like yours," 062 said harshly. "You can never truly stop, and you don't want to." His voice softening to its usual businesslike tone, 062 turned around fully and placed a hand on his shoulder. "We need you. You have the brains. You have the passion."

He lowered his head. It was true; despite recent events, he was still passionate about his science. It was not something that could just be taken away. Perhaps if he could direct it toward the greater good, though...he could make up for his mistakes. If he threw himself into his work...maybe he could find peace. Maybe he could make it up to his friends somehow...

He took a deep breath. "I'm in."

062's expression shifted for the first time into a satisfied half-smile. "Welcome to G Corp, LabTech 247."


	2. The End of the Beginning

"And this is all company procedure?"

"Yes." Concise as usual, 062 finished strapping the newly-assigned 247 to the table and walked over to the counter. "Hold still."

247 did as he was told, but his mind was in turmoil. _Why would he need to tie me down for a physical? This isn't right, this really isn't right..._

062 made his way back to the table, various implements in hand, and snapped on a bright overhead lamp, forcing 247 to screw his eyes shut.

_Maybe he's going to kill me. Dissect me and use me for spare parts..._

He pulled a pair of latex gloves from a box nearby and snapped them on.

_Why did I trust him? I've known him for two weeks and he's barely said fifty words to me. All that bull about wanting my talent, of course it wasn't real, how could I have been so stupid..._

He was being injected with something. His head began to spin.

_But maybe it was...maybe I'm just panicking for no reason. I'm still on edge from the incident. That must be it. It's probably just some weird company ritual. I've seen enough of those._

His vision faded as his brain slowly shut off, putting him to sleep.

_Science is all about the unknown..._

* * *

When he awoke, the light above his head was off, his straps were gone, and 062 was not in the room. Cautiously, he sat up, feeling his body for any strange adjustments. Everything seemed to be in order...but he felt different, somehow. Invigorated? Yes, that must be it. He had never felt so alive, so energetic, so certain.

Of course, he hadn't doubted G Corp for a second. They were, after all, the top scientific corporation in the world. They valued their employees highly, and had the best intentions in mind. And he was determined to play his part in making a difference.

By whatever means necessary.


	3. The Beginning of the End

"247! You're still here."

He turned to see 013 standing in the doorway. "Ah. Yes, I wasn't finished with my work for today, so I decided to stay late to complete it. I really should work out some way to stay here all night..."

"That's...what I wanted to talk to you about. Your work." 013 stepped further into the room, allowing the light to hit his features. With a better view, 247 could tell that something was very wrong. His colleague was sweating, disheveled, and seemingly out of breath, bearing a look of barely suppressed terror. "You...you have to help me. Please, you have to help me." Eyes darting back and forth, he blurted, "I found out about it. What you're doing. The...the project."

The older scientist felt himself go rigid, his blood turning to ice. _No. He can't mean __that__ project. He's not authorized to know about __that__ project._ "How did you come across this information?", he asked, trying to keep his voice level.

"It doesn't matter," responded 013, shaking his head almost violently. "It's wrong. It's wrong and you know it."

"Science is not about right or wrong, 013," he said, trying to placate the younger man. He was new to the corporation, after all. Only five years. He wasn't supposed to know about the more sensitive projects...not yet. "It's about discovery. Innovation. Revolution. It's about making a difference."

"Ethics have to count for something," argued 013. "What's the point in making a difference if it's just plain _wrong_?"

"Ethics, right and wrong, it's all a matter of opinion," 247 retorted fiercely. "There's a reason I'm authorized to this knowledge and you're not. You haven't learned yet, you don't understand. Science doesn't depend on traditional ethics. It doesn't need to. We must set all that aside in order to benefit the world. We must utilize whatever means necessary to achieve results."

"I don't agree," said 013, quietly. "That's what I need to talk to you about. I need to get out of here. I need to get out of here immediately. I can't work for G Corp anymore. This just isn't something I can support."

247 paled. "You can't just leave! You need to go through the proper procedures! Quitting without notice or the proper agreements would–"

013 lunged, grabbing at his coworker's collar despite the latter's protests. "You have to help me! Please, I'm desperate. They'll hunt me down, they'll hurt my family...you're the only one who can help us! Please. We need sanctuary. Protection. _Help us._"

He looked into 013's eyes, now so much closer and clearly wild, and was hit full force with what he had been trying not to imagine: his associate's true intent. "You plan to tell people about it," he said. It wasn't a question. "You mean to reveal highly classified information to the public."

"I have to! Don't you understand? I can't keep this a secret. People have to know!"

Breathing erratically, 247 started taking in a wide view of the room, looking for something, anything, that would stop this. He couldn't let this project leak out. He would _never_ let G Corp's security be compromised. It was _absolutely crucial_ that _nothing get out_. This was dangerous. Too dangerous. They _must not know_. He had to put a stop to it, he had to stop it, he couldn't let this happen, he couldn't, he wouldn't, he...

"This was a mistake." 013 began to back away. "Coming to you was a mistake. Forget everything that was said here. Just forget it all. You're blind. You...you're _insane_. The whole lot of you, you're insane!"

"No," he breathed. "We're making a difference." His eyes landed on a syringe filled with the contents of his latest work. Time seemed to slow as he made a desperate, instinctive grab for it, and in one fluid motion, spun around, thrust his hand outward, and plunged the needle into 013's exposed forehead.

He was dead before he hit the ground.

247 stood motionless, staring at the figure–the body–on the ground in front of him for a good thirty seconds before managing to fully process what had just happened. "My god..." he whispered to himself, barely even hearing it above his own ragged breathing. His fingers clenched, and his hands unconsciously went toward his face as he shouted out in horrified anguish. "What have I _done_?"


	4. The End

An eerie groaning sound came from his left, where he thought he'd seen movement earlier. More on edge than usual, he whipped around just in time to be the first to see 957 suddenly bleeding profusely from the neck and...

"OH. MY. GOD. What IS that?" he shouted, reeling backward. As the screams and shouts of the other partygoing LabTechs filled the air, he tried in vain to keep from hyperventilating. 013. The information leak. The syringe. _013_. He was _here_. And he was...he was something straight out of a bad horror movie. The virus. The virus had done this to him, it couldn't have been anything else, it...

062's incredulous exclamation pierced his panicked reverie. "No! It can't be! I..._I killed you myself_!"

"What? That can't be!" he called. "_I_ killed him! How in the hell do you kill someone _twice_?" He didn't care about the consequences, he didn't bother to think before he spoke; all hell had already broken loose. "Oh god...957! Why didn't we LISTEN?" He was right, he had been right all along, and now he was gone...

Ignoring 101's barely audible comment that 013 and 957 should "get a room", he frantically looked for the exit while trying to keep an eye on both of the brain-eating creatures. There were no windows in this room. Where was the door? Oh god, where was the door? And how could 062 be telling him to _stay calm_? "Can't you _do_ something?" he shouted at the retiree...then realized that with 013's teeth newly embedded in his head, the answer was most likely no.

"Get away from me!" yelled the older man. Then, muttering to himself, "Where's my...uh...seru–" The sentence was interrupted by the speaker's degeneration, but 247 had heard enough. "Your _what_?" There was something about a serum. What was he forgetting? There was something he alone knew, something he wasn't supposed to know; what _was_ it? "What have you had us doing all this time?" he called out to his boss. Mr. Gambino had too many secrets. It was his fault this was happening, all his fault for keeping so many goddamn secrets...

He had to stay alive. He couldn't die now, not like this! "I just need...need...augh, what do I need? This is a bad time to be forgetting!" he muttered, turning out all his pockets and growling in frustration. Then he looked up and saw the door. He ran toward it, pushing the bar as hard as he could. "It won't budge...oh god..." As 909 entered the room, apologizing for being late, he raced for the door his coworker had come in through, only to find it firmly stuck as well. "What have I done?" he cried out.

Now he noticed that he was the only human left in the room. Gambino had fled, damn him, and the others were all infected. He backed up into a corner as they came at him, craving his flesh. He bumped into the food table, shoved it on its side, and took cover behind it. It wouldn't be enough and he knew it. "I don't want to die...not when I just learned who I was..." He was shaking, sheer terror flooding his mind, his life flashing before his eyes as the beings that were his former coworkers and underlings converged...


End file.
